Stanley Park

Adjoining the West End of downtown Vancouver, the magnificent Stanley Park certainly enjoys one of the world’s most breathtaking settings: the park is surrounded on three sides by the ocean and loomed over by the snow-capped North Shore ...

I debated and considered both the hop on and off bus and trolley tours. both seemed to be about the same but the trolley seemed to have a better route through more of Stanley Park. We only had one day to see Vancouver and it was chilly so we opted for the Trolley. The driver/guide was very personable and informative but a bit hard to understand. Very kind and dropped us off where we wanted to end up when we were done.

This is the best way to see Vancouver if you only have 1-2 days. The bus came get us at the hotel in Richmond and brought us downtown to get on the bus that would bring us around. I don't remember the bus driver's name, but he was excellent! I knew from the moment I hopped on the bus that he really enjoyed his job. He never once made a speech about tipping, but we tipped him anyway because he was that good. At the end of the tour, he brought everyone back to their hotel. I loved getting to see Vancouver. We stopped at a few places- Stanley Park (absolutely beautiful, despite the rain) - The Capilano Suspension Bridge- and Granville Island. I loved Capilano Suspension Bridge. We went there on a Friday, but I guess because of the light drizzle, not many people were there. We were able to do everything- the bridge, cliff walk, and Treetop Adventure! We had only about 15 minutes to shop in the gift shop, but overall I would recommend this to everyone. We ended the day at Granville Island which was so neat! I wish we would have had more time there. It's so much to do. This tour is about 6 hours total. Our bus driver was so knowledgeable and informative. He was always so happy to answer questions. He also took us through other little areas of the city. I absolutely loved Vancouver. The people are nice and the food is delicious. Although we only had 2 days there, I hope to visit again soon. (We had been on an Alaskan Cruise for 8 days so it was time to get back home to work!)

This was perfect way of seeing Vancouver for us. We boarded the bus at Stop 1 in Gastown. My husband has Parkinson's Disease and uses a walker. The bus drivers were all very accommodating in helping to get the walker on and off the bus. The drivers were also very well informed about the various sites along the way, with many little humourous tales to tell. We only got off the bus at Grenville Island and Stanley Park, taking the extra opportunities at each to explore the areas more (the ferry across False Creek and the Pink Bus tour of the park). We spent 6 hours of the day with the Hop On, Hop Off tour and considered it worth every cent of the senior's fare. I just wish our bodies could have handled more 'hopping off' to explore more. Thanks for a great visit to Vancouver. It was the highlight of our holiday.

I would recommend to this tour at the start of your trip to see everything Vancouver has to offer. Loved Stanley Park - really need a whole day there as it is so big! The totem poles were good to see and gave you a taste of the history behind the poles. Lions Gate bridge reminds you of a smaller Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Granville Island is a bustling little village packed to the brim of people. Finding something to eat (you stop for lunch here) is a task as the food court is packed full. Quaint little shops dotted around the place make for good shopping. The look out at the Harbour Centre is fantastic - great views and we could see for miles - even Mount Baker in Washington! We went back to the look out just on dark as the ticket entry allowed you to go back on the same day - the lights of Vancouver were so pretty. We loved Vancouver and would highly recommend any traveller to spend some time there.

Hop on Hop off in Vancouver worked out perfectly for our group to reach all the destinations we wanted to visit. We had no trouble catching another trolley after we exited in Chinatown, Stanley Park, Gas town and Grandville. We used the free False Ferry tickets provided in our included discount booklet, then caught the trolley back into Vancouver. We did find it was easiest to catch the first trolley of the day starting at Canada Place. We purchased the two-day ticket and it was perfect.

Tour stops were well placed along the route. Good commentary along the route. Enjoyed stop on Granville Island and the option to return by water taxi. Enjoyed the Stanley Park portion, but was annoyed that schedule was not on time as we waited almost an hour for a next pickup. Also seats very hard

The jury is out in our opinion with these Hop-on, Hop-Off tours. We stayed at the Westin Bayshore Hotel which is the last stop of all the downtown hotels before you go off to Stanley Park. The shuttles were FULL by the time they got to us; we waited an hour to finally "hop-on". The happiest people seemed to be the ones who just rode around and saw the city, never getting off. It was a competitive sport to get back on once you got off. Later in the tour it was easier to get on and off. The suspension on the trolleys is awful and if you don't have a bad back to start with, you will by the end of the day. Note that there are the trolleys, the Big Bus, and Hop-on, Hop-off buses---three different companies doing basically the same thing. I think we are done with these.....

Your description of this tour includes a walking tour of Gastown. Our guide "Steve" did drive though Gastown and Chinatown but there was no stopping or getting off the bus. We also drove past Robson St on our way to Stanley Park where we got off the bus for 15 minutes to look at the totem poles and another 15 minutes at Prospect Point, not exactly a walk in the park. We did have a little over an hour on Granville Island, but that included time to get something to eat which left very little time for exploring or chatting with artists. All in all not worth the money.

First of all the staff and drivers were excellent. I wish I could rate them separately because I'd give them all 5 stars. Unfortunately my review has to do with the overbooking from reservations. We started our adventure at 9am on a Thursday. First off, we had to wait for multiple trolleys because they were all full. After we were finally able to get on, the first couple of stops we made through Stanley Park there wasn't enough room for everybody who wanted to get on from there. People waiting were very irate and vocalized being so. Unfortunately this is a 'must do' if you've never been to Vancouver. The tour around town was very nice and the bus drivers were excellent.

Do not take! On the first day (of a 2 day pass) the trolley (the last one of the day leaving Stanley Park) didn't show up. No way to get back to town. Finally we asked another hop-on-hop-off company if we could ride with them. The competition took pity of 7 stranded passengers. Not enough trolleys for the amount of tickets sold, I reckon. Well, we did not learn our lesson (we had paid for 2 day passes) so the following day repeated the route... And had 4 trolleys pass us full, not stopping, again in Stanley Park. We had to wait for well over one hour to finally get on. Shame on the company, they oversold, underprepared or just ignored the problem and the phone calls made to the company headquarters.... Which closed at 5pm, so no one was available to respond. Do yourself a favor take another company.

Fantastic tour and worth every penny!! Nick is incredibly knowledgeable about every aspect of nature and culture in Vancouver and is very passionate about his city and about being a tour guide. He will show you every fascinating trail and treasure at the Stanley Park and he will tell you everything about everything along the way. The itinerary of this tour is very interesting and you would never be able to find these places and learn about them this well any other way. This tour was the highlight of my vacation in Vancouver and I highly recommend it to every traveler out there!!